1. If you usually type your first drafts, hand write them. Nothing compares to feeling of ink melting into paper and surge of that creative flow.

2. If you spend too much time at computer, take a break every hour. Go for a walk or just sit outside in sun. Even five minutes in a winter sun does wonders for mood and creativity.

3. Flip through magazines or books. Their colors and ideas will give you sparks and will switch your attitude. Blue and green can reduce your stress levels by 30% or more.

4. Add strong smells to room. Light scented candles around you, visit fruit isle at grocery store, or go to a store that is heavily scented. Find oranges or strawberries and smell them. Both will change a mood or create an inspiration. Smells awaken your creativity. Smells trigger memories and are great methods to rekindle stories from past.

5. Go see or rent an inspirational movie. Relaxation time is important. You can even take your notebook and record inspirational phrases. Afterwards, free write those phrases from your subconscious.

6. Read a book that stirs you or sparks your creativity. If you prefer, read poetry.

7. Look at bold and bright colors for a few minutes. These can change your mood.

8. Talk with a friend about your topic to flesh out ideas and creativity. Record conversation, with their permission of course, and play it back to hear little nuances that you might have missed.

9. Write an e-mail to a friend to tell him or her what you want to accomplish. If you are stuck, say so and ask for help.

10. Check in with your vibrational energy and do something to switch it into high gear. Take a shower. Go for a walk. Turn on some music and dance naked for a few minutes.

By Jill Nagle

Like any field, excellent writing requires study, practice and mentorship. Very few successful authors ever published their first draft of their first work. Nearly all had to expend considerable effort to improve their craft. Here are some ways to prepare for that moment of publication. These tips also help keep you on your toes after publication for better and better writing results as your career develops.

1) Read, read, read in your field. You can never read too much when you’re trying to excel as a writer. Reading in your field helps you develop a discerning eye. You need this discerning eye for when you step back and look at your own work.

2) Cultivate role models. Know who top-selling authors are in your field. Find out more about them. How did they get to where they are? Do searches in Internet (available in most libraries-ask your librarian how to use a search engine) for information about particular authors whose careers you admire. Let your role models inspire rather than daunt you. There is no competition, only inspiration, potential teachers and opportunities for cooperation. That author you envy this year may be writing a blurb for your first novel next year.

3) Research your markets. If you want to publish in periodicals, whether literary fiction, journalistic writing, or anything else, realize publication standards serve a purpose other than to frustrate new authors.

4) Take classes. Many cities offer writing classes through community colleges or local writing groups. Online writing classes are popping up everywhere. If possible, choose a writing teacher who has published in a field you’d like to enter. Even better, find someone you already consider a mentor. Not every published author has what it takes to offer beginning writers what they need, but many do.

5) Join or start a writer’s group in your area. We teach best what we most need to learn. There is no better way to improve your own writing than to help others with theirs.